2023 has been a busy year for the Cobot Maker Space (CMS). The Operations Team has organised 21 events, which have included visits and tours by internal and external colleagues and collaborators. We received invitations to attend several externally led events and enjoyed these opportunities to take out our robots and demonstrations to engage with a wider audience. We welcomed 49 new users, these consisted of Undergraduate, PhD and Masters students along with several members of academic staff, primarily based at the School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham.
Some highlights throughout the year include:
A visit to Bramcote Hills School and visits by pupils from local schools, including Allestree Woodlands, to introduce secondary school students with an interest in STEM to visit the University and experience some of the work undertaken.
We were delighted to showcase our research and hardware to attendees of the Autonomous Systems in Healthcare Summer Conference – an event focussing on the sociological, technological and human rights issues at stake relating to autonomous systems in healthcare – which took place at the University of Nottingham in June. Also in June, we opened our doors to BBC Panorama to carry out filming with BlueSkeye AI, a local company recognised as global leaders in human behaviour analysis using face and voice sensing AI. Participation in the UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems (UK RAS) Robot Lab Live also took place during June. Driving by the seat of your pants: Robot teleoperation using smart seat sensors was delivered by Simon-Castle Green, Emily Crowe and Praminda Caleb-Solly across a live stream to an enthusiastic audience spanning the UK.
In addition to supporting colleagues from the National Rehabilitation Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition – a prestigious annual event which attracts over 13,000 members of the public – we welcomed newly elected Nottingham City and Broxtowe councillors to the CMS in July. The visit enabled councillors to learn more about the University of Nottingham and our impact and proved a useful opportunity for us to learn about local council priorities and to enhance establishing positive working relationships.
On learning that 1EdTech Europe 2023 planned to hold a conference at the University of Nottingham in September to address ‘Evolving the Digital Learning Ecosystem Across Boarders’, we extended an invitation to attendees to visit our facility. We were also delighted to welcome members of a new University of Nottingham-wide Network, set up to build a well-rounded group of experts and lay persons interested in responsible artificial intelligence. The local Network was introduced following the announcement of the UKRI Responsible AI UK programme led by the University of Southampton and partnering the University of Nottingham and King’s College London.
Following on from attending the University of Nottingham Power of Partnership conference earlier in the year, Dominic Price, Technical Manager of the CMS was invited – along with Spot the Botson Dynamics robotic dog – to an event led by Nottingham Partners in November. The event focussed on AI and Data and took place in the Carbon Neutral Lab, attracting over 75 businesses ranging from small SMEs to large multi-nationals.
Also in November we welcomed 30 public sector CEOs from the Leadership College for Government Public Sector Leaders ‘Leading Collaborative Organisations’ programme. The programme supports the development of leadership and management skills in the Civil Service. The visit to the University of Nottingham and tour of our facility supported broadening their understanding of collaboration.
Dominic was again busy in December and along with some fantastic volunteers, attended the Campaign and Alumni Relations Office Supporter Christmas Reception to showcase our telepresence robots. Also in attendance was Praminda Caleb-Solly, who had been invited to talk about her robotics research, focussing on investigating different ways in which technologies can assist people with age-related disabilities and long-term conditions. The event was organised by the University to thank donors and consisted of talks in the Senate Chamber bounded by a reception with demonstrations and stands in the Great Hall.
Also during December, we hosted the Cyber Physical Health and Assistive Robotics Technologies Research (CHART) Group Christmas party. Over 50 people attended the demonstrations, had a go at controlling some of our robots and enjoyed an afternoon of networking and eating mince pies!
As our facility begins to get more widely recognised, an increasing number of opportunities and invitations are being received. Already 2024 is looking busy with the Operations Team – in conjunction with the University of Nottingham Research & Innovation team – preparing to attend Love Business Expo in February. Also in the pipeline is a visit by the Foundation for Science and Technology Future Leaders Alumni and an opportunity to attend the IOSH conference to network with industry professionals.
Take a look at our projects page to find out more about some of the research that takes place in our workshop, labs and fully instrumented rooms replicating a home living area, hospital wardroom and museum gallery, and follow us on Social Media to keep in touch.